Getty unveils most powerful pictures of 2019

WHERE has 2019 gone? It seems like every year, the 365 days goes flying by faster and faster.

In a world where news breaks every minute around the world, we have to remind ourselves to pause and consider what's unfolded.

That's the power of a great photograph.

It captures a moment in time - a part of history - arguably better than any form of media.

Getty Images, who have some of the best photographers on the planet, have put together a collection of images that captures Australia in 2019 - the highs and lows.

The editorial team of award-winning photographers provide coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from all corners of the world.

Getty covered more than 160,000 news, sport and entertainment events at home and abroad: over 70,000 in entertainment, 50,000 in sport and 40,000 in news.

The following are designed to connect people to the world through the power of pictures - from the controversial appearance of Cardinal George Pell in court, to the dire environmental impacts of the nation's bushfires, floods and drought.

Getty Images were also there for the moments that made the world smile and the moments the world celebrated - from sporting triumphs to the Sydney Climate Strike.

"I've been curating the Getty Images year in review image collections for nine years now," says Getty Images' Director of Editorial for Asia Pacific, Cassie Trotter.

"Every December, when I start pulling together these collections, it allows me to really think about the year that has past.

"An image has the power to sum up a whole cultural movement, an entire news cycle, a story that sometimes words cannot do justice to.

"To get the opportunity to review the most captivating, emotive and sometimes shocking pictures of the year provides us all with some much-needed reflection time and reminds us of the power an image can have.

"Working in this business has truly taught me the meaning of the phrase 'a picture's worth a thousand words'."